Santa’s Hat Shortcakes

Santa’s Hat Shortcakes are filled with Vanilla Whipped Cream and a Cran-Strawberry Jam. These are the perfect bite for any Winter Holiday table!

Allergen Friendly

Santa’s Hat Shortcakes are delicious and allergy-friendly!

These shortcakes are made with Active Sourdough Starter which makes the texture of the biscuits or shortcakes tender and flaky. Although it is not 100% gluten-free, Sourdough significantly reduces the gluten within a given dough the longer you let the dough ferment (or rise).

Traditional Strawberry Shortcake calls for eggs in the biscuit dough. However, since I am highly allergic to eggs, I substituted the egg for 1/2 c. of Unsweetened Applesauce.

Finally, because the dough was bound with applesauce instead of eggs, the texture of the shortcake dough needed a little more moistness before rolling it out. Therefore, I added 1-2 tbsp. of Oat Milk to allow the dough to bind together.

Santa’s Hat Shortcakes Ingredients

• Unsalted Butter, cold
• Active Sourdough Starter
• Unsweetened Applesauce
• Salt
• Baking Powder
• Organic, All Purpose Flour
• Granulated Sugar

Creating the Cran-Strawberry Jam

Ingredients for the Cran-Strawberry Jam

• Fresh or Frozen Strawberries
• Strawberry Jam
• Cranberries
• Lemon, zested and juiced
• Granulated Sugar
• Mexican Vanilla
• Pink Salt

Making the Cran-Strawberry Jam

1. First, place all the ingredients into a pot heated over medium heat. Stir with a spatula to combine. Place the lid on the pot.
2. Then, bring the ingredients to a slight boil and reduce to medium-low heat. Allow the sauce to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. Next, when the sauce reaches the preferred consistency, cut the heat off and allow the sauce to cool completely.
4. Then, blend the Cran-Strawberry sauce with either an immersion blender or traditional blender, until you’ve reached the desired consistency.
   • I left some chunks in my jam as I wanted my guests to see the chunks of cranberries and strawberries.
5. Finally, pour the sauce into an air-tight container or jar and allow it to be set up in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

Place the Cran-Strawberry Jam Ingredients in a Pot

Bring the Mixture to a Boil

Blend to the Desired Consistency and Then Store in an Airtight Container

Whipping Up the Vanilla Whipped Cream

I decided tonight that I should try and make homemade Whipped Cream by hand…I’ll preface by saying this took about 20-30 minutes to do. If you do not have the time (or patience) for this, you can use a stand mixer or hand mixer and whip your heavy whipping cream until soft peaks form.

Homemade Whipped Cream Ingredients

• Heavy Whipping Cream, cold
• Powdered Sugar
• Mexican Vanilla

Whipping Up the Whipped Cream

1. First, build an ice bath by filling a larger mixing bowl with ice.
2. Then, place a smaller bowl within the ice bath bowl and pour in the heavy whipping cream. Start whipping with a whisk.
3. After 10 minutes of whipping the cream, add 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar.
4. Next, continue whipping the cream.
5. After another 10 minutes have passed, add 1-to-2 tsp. of Mexican Vanilla (this depends on how vanilla-forward you want your whipped cream to taste).
6. Continue whipping the cream by hand until soft peaks form. This could take anywhere from an additional 5-10 minutes.
7. Place your whipped cream in the refrigerator to stay cold while continuing to bake the shortcakes.

Crafting the Sourdough Shortcakes Dough

1. In a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer with a paddle attachment, mix all of the dry ingredients, sourdough starter, and applesauce together.
2. Then, grate the unsalted butter using a Microplane or Grater.
3. Next, using your hands, incorporate the butter into the dough until it becomes crumbly or resembles pebbles.
4. Depending on the consistency of the dough, add 1-to-2 tbsp. Oat Milk to help bind the dough. You want the dough to have a little moistness to it, but not liquid.
5. Then, place your shortcake dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a ball. Wrap the biscuit dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.

Cut the Biscuits

1. After the dough has cooled for 15 minutes, unwrap the dough and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
2. Using a rolling pin, roll the sourdough shortcake dough out into a rectangular shape. Then, fold the dough over into another rectangle. Roll the dough out again into a rectangular shape, and repeat 2 more times.
3. On the third time of rolling out the dough, use a 2-to-3-inch biscuit cutter and cut rounds out of the dough. Place the rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until all the dough has been cut or used.
   • Once a baking sheet has been filled with biscuit dough rounds, place it in the freezer for up to 20 minutes. This will allow the butter to re-cool and create a flakier biscuit.

Bake the Shortcakes

1. Next, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Take the parchment-lined baking sheets directly from the freezer and pop them into the oven for 5 minutes.
3. After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the tops of the shortcakes are golden brown.
4. Once the Sourdough shortcakes are baked, allow them to cool completely prior to assembly.

Building the Santa’s Hat Shortcakes

1. Using a cerated knife, cut one of the shortcake biscuits in half.
2. Then, take the cooled whipped cream from the refrigerator and spread 1 tbsp. of whipped cream on the bottom part of the biscuit.
3. Next, place 1/2 tbsp. of Cran-Strawberry Jam on top of the whipped cream. Top with the other half of the sourdough shortcake.
   • You could also easily use leftover Cranberry Sauce in place of the jam for this dessert. Get creative and have fun!
4. Place 1 tsp. of whipped cream on the top of the shortcake stack. Then add a small dollop of Cran-Strawberry Jam on the back side of the whipped cream (almost like the tail of a Santa’s Hat). Continue to assemble until all of your Santa’s Hat Shortcakes are created.
5. Finally, enjoy

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Santa's Hat Shortcakes

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Additional Time: 10 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes

Santa's Hat Shortcakes are filled with Vanilla Whipped Cream and a Cran-Strawberry Jam. These are the perfect bite for any Winter Holiday table!

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Ingredients

Sourdough Shortcakes

• 1 1/2 - 2 sticks of Unsalted Butter, cold
• 1 c. Active Sourdough Starter
• 1/2 c. Organic, Unsweetened Applesauce
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 2 tbsp. Baking Powder
• 3 c. Organic, All Purpose Flour
• 1/2 - 1/3 c. Granulated Sugar

Cran-Strawberry Jam

• 1 Container Fresh Strawberries, Hulled and Halved
• 1/2 c. Strawberry Jam
• 1, 8-oz Bag Fresh Cranberries
• 1 Lemon, Zested and Juiced
• 1/2 - 3/4 c. Granulated Sugar
• 1 tsp. Mexican Vanilla
• 1/2 tsp. Pink Salt

Homemade Whipped Cream

• 1 c. Heavy Whipping Cream, Cold
• 1/4 - 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar
• 1 or 2 tsp. Mexican Vanilla

Instructions

For the Sourdough Shortcakes

1. In a Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer with a paddle attachment, mix all of the dry ingredients, sourdough starter, and applesauce together.
2. Then, grate the unsalted butter using a Microplane or Grater.
3. Next, using your hands, incorporate the butter into the dough until it becomes crumbly or resembles pebbles.
4. Depending on the consistency of the dough, add 1-to-2 tbsp. Oat Milk to help bind the dough. You want the dough to have a little moistness to it, but not liquid.
5. Then, place your shortcake dough on a lightly floured surface and roll it into a ball. Wrap the biscuit dough with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge for at least 15 minutes.
6. After the dough has cooled for 15 minutes, unwrap the dough and place it onto a lightly floured surface. Lightly flour the top of the dough to prevent the dough from sticking to the rolling pin.
7. Using a rolling pin, roll the sourdough shortcake dough out into a rectangular shape. Then, fold the dough over into another rectangle. Roll the dough out again into a rectangular shape, and repeat it 2 more times.
8. On the third time of rolling out the dough, use a 2-to-3-inch biscuit cutter and cut rounds out of the dough. Place the rounds onto a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat this process until all the dough has been cut or used.
9. Once a baking sheet has been filled with biscuit dough rounds, place it in the freezer for up to 20 minutes. This will allow the butter to re-cool and create a flakier biscuit.
10. Next, preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
11. Take the parchment-lined baking sheets directly from the freezer and pop them into the oven for 5 minutes.
12. After 5 minutes, reduce the heat to 400 degrees and bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the tops of the shortcakes are golden brown.
13. Once the Sourdough shortcakes are baked, allow them to cool completely prior to assembly.

For the Cran-Strawberry Jam

1. First, place all the ingredients into a pot heated over medium heat. Stir with a spatula to combine. Place the lid on the pot.
2. Then, bring the ingredients to a slight boil and reduce to medium-low heat. Allow the sauce to simmer for 15-20 minutes.
3. Next, when the sauce reaches the preferred consistency, cut the heat off and allow the sauce to cool completely.
4. Then, blend the Cran-Strawberry sauce with either an immersion blender or a traditional blender, until you've reached the desired consistency. I left some chunks in my jam as I wanted my guests to see the chunks of cranberries and strawberries.
5. Finally, pour the sauce into an air-tight container or jar and allow it to be set up in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes.

For the Homemade Whipped Cream

1. First, build an ice bath by filling a larger mixing bowl with ice.
2. Then, place a smaller bowl within the ice bath bowl and pour in the heavy whipping cream. Start whipping with a whisk.
3. After 10 minutes of whipping the cream, add 1/2 c. Powdered Sugar.
4. Next, continue whipping the cream.
5. After another 10 minutes have passed, add 1-to-2 tsp. of Mexican Vanilla (this depends on how vanilla-forward you want your whipped cream to taste).
6. Continue whipping the cream by hand until soft peaks form. This could take anywhere from an additional 5-10 minutes.
7. Place your whipped cream in the refrigerator to stay cold while continuing to bake the shortcakes.